ISLAMABAD: “Kulbhushan Yadav, an on-duty RAW agent arrested on March 24 from Balochistan, was on a mission to sabotage China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as part of enemy’s subversive agenda to destabilize Pakistan,” said the DG Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Maj Gen Asim Salim Bajwa on Tuesday.

Addressing a joint presser with Information Pervez Rasheed, Bajwa said that Yadav was tasked to disrupt development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), with Gwadar Port as a special target, which he added was no less than ‘state-sponsored terrorism’.

The DG ISPR termed the arrest a major achievement for it was quite rare to detect and apprehend an armed forces officer of Yadav rank working on clandestine mission outside his country.

He also played a video at the presser showing the arrested spy confessing to the involvement of Indian covert agency Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) in Balochistan in fanning separatist flames.

The Pakistani military spokesman said that Yadav facilitated contacts between Anil Kumar Sharma, the joint secretary of RAW, and his other operatives in Pakistan.

The operative has confessed to have orchestrated ‘anti-national and terrorist activities’ in Balochistan along with conspiring to fuel sectarian violence in Karachi.

Hailing from Mumbai, Kulbhushan Yadav, in his confessional video statement, said that he joined Indian Defence Academy in 1987 before being commissioned in Indian navy in 1991.

In contrast with New Delhi’s claim, he says, “I am still a serving officer in the Indian Navy and will be due for retirement in 2022”.

The on-duty spy went on to say that he commenced intelligence operations by 2002 and established a small business in Chabahar, Iran in 2003 as a cover-up. He admitted to have visited Karachi undetected in 2003 and 2004.

Having done a few basic assignments, Yadav says he was picked up by RAW by the end of 2013 and since then he has been directing various activities in Karachi and Balochistan “at the behest of RAW”.

“I am basically the man for Mr Anil Kumar Gupta who is the joint secretary of RAW and his contacts in Pakistan, especially in the Baloch student organization,” he confessed in the video.

The operative said that he was directed to meet Baloch insurgents and conduct subversive activities with their collaboration, which resulted in the ‘killing or injuring of Pakistani citizens’.

Background

Pakistani security agencies on March 24 apprehended an ‘on-duty RAW agent’ from Balochistan. The suspect was said to be an officer of the Indian navy working for the covert agency to destabilize Pakistan.

The operative had contacts with banned organizations and was working on plans to break Karachi and Balochistan away from Pakistan, and to sabotage the billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.

On March 25, a day after the arrest, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said the Indian man arrested from Balochistan has no connection with the government, however, admitted that Kulbhushan Yadav is a former officer of the Indian navy.

“He (Yadav) acquired premature retirement from the Indian navy and since then the government has nothing to do with him,” said Vikas Swarup, a spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, requesting Pakistan to grant counsellor access to the ‘arrested Indian citizen’.